Key selector aid



D. W. WISHART KEY SELECTOR AID Nov. 6, 1951 Filed NOV. 14, 1946 I n/en t r.

Patented Nov. 6, 1 951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 L GTQR. A D Donald W shart, Toronto, Qntario, Qanada,

Application November 14, 1946, SerialNo. 709,747

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a device for identifying keys, and the principal object of the invention is to provide a very simple device which may be easily and quickly applied to any key and by means of which the key may, merely by the sense of touch, be rapidly and positively identified and selected from amongst a bunch of keys.

A further important object is to provide a key selector which is very inexpensive to manufacture and which may be made in a variety of attractive forms.

The principal feature of the invention consists in providing a block or tab which is formed with a slot in its periphery to receive a portion of the head of a key and having a transverse orifice extending therethrough and intersecting said slot to receive the key chain on which the key, together with its selector block, is to be secured, said block being adapted to project from the head of the key so that it may be readily located by the sense of touch and grasped by the fingers.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevational view of my key selector showing it applied to one of a number of keys on a chain.

Figure 2 is an elevational view taken at right angles to Figure 1 and showing how the key is secured in my selector.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of my selector taken on the line I l of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of another form of key selector embodying my invention.

In the past, various key tags made to fit over the heads of keys have been used, and these tags have been provided with legends or designs, sometimes printed with a luminous material, so that the keys may be visually identified. The present invention however, is directed to a key selector which will enable a key to be positively identified by the sense of touch.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that my key selector comprises a block or tab I which may be of any suitable material such as plastic, wood or the like and which as shown in Figure 1 is generally oval in shape, and as shown in Figure 4 is in the shape of a tire, and this tab or block I is formed with a slot 2 in its periphery defining a body portion I and a clevis portion 2' adapted to receive a portion of the head of a key 3, and with an aperture 4 extending transversely therethrough adjacent the slotted portion of the periphery and intersecting said slot 2 at substantially a right angle.

It will be understood that when the block embraces the head of the key 3 inserted in the slot 2, the transverse aperture 4 will be substantially in alignment with the ring-receiving aperture 5 in the key to admit the key retainer or chain 6 which will retain the selected key in the block I, and the major portion of the block will project beyond the head of the key and may be readily located in the pocket by the sense of touch and grasped by the fingers.

In applying my selector to any particular key which is required to be quickly selectable from a group of keys on the key chain 6, the key is removed from the chain and its head portion which may be of any shape is inserted into the slot 2 in the periphery of the selector and the chain is then inserted through the selectors transverse orifice or aperture 4 and the ringreceiving aperture 5 of the key. The chain will then serve to hold the selector in its key embracing position. When the projecting selector portion, which is easily distinguishable from the keys by the fingers, is grasped, the key embraced thereby is automatically selected.

It will be noted that in the normal position, Figure 1, the longitudinal dimension of the key is aligned with the major dimension of the block I. However, it is not desirable to have this relation rigidly maintained and with the disclosed arrangement the key is free to rotate through a limited arc until stopped by jamming of the key head against the base of the slot 2.

Although only two different selector body shapes are shown, the oval of Figure 1 and the tire of Figure 4, it is obvious that the selector may be of any desired form or configuration provided that it has an edge that may be slotted to receive the head of the key.

It will also be appreciated that several of a group of keys may be provided with selectors of different shapes and each key so provided can be readily identified.

In addition it is important to note that the simplicity of my selector enables it to be manufactured in large quantities of various attractive forms at a very low cost.

What I claim as my invention is:

The combination with a key retainer and a key, of a fiat block having a pair of parallel faces and a slot cut into the periphery defined between said faces to a depth substantially less than the major dimension of said faces and extending from side-to-side of said block to define a clevis portion and a body portion larger than said clevis portion, the spaced arms of said clevis portion having an orifice therethrough adjacent the periphery of said block remote from the base of said clevis, said key having a shank and a head formed with an orifice displaced from the centre of said head towards the periphery remote from the shank, said retainer passing through the orifice of said block clevis portion and key head with said key head received between said clevis arms to secure said key in said clevis for rotational movement relative said block, the displacement of said key head orifice from the centre of said head and the displacement of said clevis orifice from the base of the clevis being such as to provide a jamming between said key head and clevis base when said key is rotated in either direction substantially less than 90 from a position with the longitudinal dimension of said key aligned with the major dimension of said block, but permitting free key movement-between said jamming positions, said body portion presenting at said parallel faces substantial thumb and finger gripping areas extending beyond said key head and clevis portion. DONALD W. WISHART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,794,498 Ridgway Mar. 3, 1931 1,795,291 Dunn Mar. 10, 1931 1,897,861 Quay Feb. 14, 1933 1,911,261 Burson May 30, 1933 2,078,293 Smith, Jr. Apr. 27, 1937 

